After 2016 Road to Oman Rankings winner Jordan Smith hit his first tee shot as a European Tour member at the Australian PGA Championship, we take a look back at how former European Challenge Tour Number Ones fared in their rookie European Tour seasons.
Ricardo Gouveia
Where else to start than with 2015 Challenge Tour Number One Gouveia. After a phenomenal campaign on Europe’s top developmental tour, where the Portuguese won twice and finished the season in 84thplace in the Official World Golf Ranking, he arrived in South Africa looking to make an immediate impact.
The then 24 year old did just that, carding a four under par final round of 68 to seal his place in the top 20 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. After making the cut at both the Joburg Open and Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, the man from Lisbon secured his first European Tour top ten a week later with a tied seventh finish at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
After a consistent summer, where Gouveia also represented his country at the Olympic Games, he came alive at the business end of the season, following a tied 13thplace at the Turkish Airlines Open with a share of third at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player for the largest pay cheque of his career to date. After finishing 54thin the 2016 Race to Dubai, the future looks bright for Gouveia.
Andrew Johnston
It doesn’t get much better than Johnston’s start to life on the European Tour. The Englishman arrived at Leopard Creek Golf Club after a stellar Challenge Tour campaign, where he triumphed twice and finished second at the lucrative Kazakhstan Open on his way to winning the Rankings.
While home favourite Branden Grace claimed many of the plaudits with an outstanding wire-to-wire Alfred Dunhill Championship victory, Johnston finished third – what would prove to be his best result that season. Now one of the most recognisable faces in golf, Smith will be hoping he can have as much success on the course as the man known as “Beef”.
Tommy Fleetwood
Like his fellow countryman Johnston, Fleetwood made a fast start on the European Tour. In fact, the then 20 year old had even secured a European Tour top five before the end of his breakthrough Challenge Tour season, taking a share of fifth place at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – one month before he was crowned Challenge Tour Number One.
The man from Southport endured a mixed rookie season but showed nerves of steel in his last event of 2012, carding a final round 69 in the SA Open Championship to record his first top ten of the year and rise from 124th to the safety of 109th in the Race to Dubai, retaining his card for 2013.
A breakthrough victory would follow the following season though, where he beat Stephen Gallacher and Ricardo Gonzalez in a play-off to claim the 2013 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
Edoardo Molinari
While Smith’s rise from the EuroPro Tour to the European Tour in consecutive seasons is impressive, Molinari’s journey from Challenge Tour Rankings champion to Ryder Cup winner in 12 months is remarkable.
The Italian smashed the record for the most money earned in a Challenge Tour season in 2009, which wouldn’t be bettered until 2015 by Gouveia, when he notched up three victories, four runner-up finishes, two further top fives and four other top tens.
A month after being crowned Challenge Tour Number One, the then 28 year old joined forces with his brother Francesco at the World Cup of Golf. After reaching an astonishing 29 under par after four rounds, the Italian was a world champion – his fourth title of the year.
Molinari carried his remarkable form into his rookie European Tour season, where he finished tied 14that the Alfred Dunhill Championship before taking a share of fourth at the South African Open Championship the following week.
Four further top fives, along with victories at the Barclays Scottish Open and Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, not only strengthened Molinari’s reputation as an emerging talent, but caught the eye of Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie. He picked him for his team at Celtic Manor Resort, and the rest is history.
David Horsey
Before Molinari started to dominate in 2009, Horsey charged to the top of the Rankings in 2008. The Englishman’s Challenge Tour breakthrough came at the Telenet Trophy, where he birdied three of the last four holes to win by one shot. Buoyed by that victory, he effectively sealed his European Tour card for the following season with his second triumph of the year two weeks later, at the AGF-ALLIANZ EurOpen de Lyon.
Two weeks after becoming a Challenge Tour Rankings winner, the then 24 year old arrived in south east Asia, where he made consecutive cuts in Shanghai and Hong Kong. A share of second place at the Maybank Malaysian Open in February set Horsey up well for the rest of the season, where he would retain his playing rights after two more top tens.
The man from Stockport has gone on to become a four-time European Tour winner, showing the importance of keeping your card in your rookie season.
Henrik Stenson
Last but not least is Stenson, who won the Rankings in 2000. The Swede came through the Challenge Tour ranks in style, claiming three victories, two runner-up finishes and four further top fives on his way to reaching the European Tour in 2001.
The future Open Champion missed the cut in his first start the following season, but, after a couple of solid performances, would secure his maiden European Tour triumph at The Belfry in May – holding off Angel Cabrera and Paul McGinley to win the Benson and Hedges International Open by three shots.
The 40 year old now has 11 European Tour titles under his belt, is a two-time Race to Dubai champion, a three-time Ryder Cup winner and the only Scandinavian male to triumph at a Major Championship, showing what is possible after topping the table on the Challenge Tour.
